Lockseaming process and apparatus for the same

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for forming thin wall sheet into a mechanically locked shell by providing a Mandrel that is shaped the same as the required shell and a set of forming rollers that forms the said sheet around the said mandrel. And providing gathering and forming and center bares that are parallel to the horizontal axis of the said mandrel and are moved to form the two edges of the said sheet over the said center bar. And wherein the said gathering and forming and center bars are moved to open or up position. And providing Lockseaming rollers that are moved along the axis of the said mandrel such that the said Lockseaming rollers will progressively form the said two edges into the said mechanical lock commonly known to those who are skilled in the art as a Lockseam.

This application Claims the benefits of prior filing date of provisional application number US60/590,950-Filing date Jul. 26, 2004-Applicant Mohamed T. Gharib, Brantford, Canada

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Silencer shells (mufflers) such are the ones used in the automotive industries are formed by wrapping a thin sheet around a mandrel that have the same shape as the desired silencer (muffler) shell, then mechanically locking the two sheet edges using a process called Lockseaming. The Lockseaming process involves the use of gathering and Lockseaming rollers and produces drag on the sheet edges. This drag forces sheet material away from the Lockseam and causes the trailing end of the Lockseamed shell to be larger than the leading end. And causes the Lockseam to deteriorate at the trailing end of the Lockseamed shell.

The current invention uses gathering bars and forming bars to gather the two sheet edges and perform the two edges at the correct location before Lockseaming. This greatly reduces the drag on the sheet edges and keeps the difference between the circumference of the trailing end of the Lockseamed shell and the leading end to a minimum and maintains the quality of the Lockseam along the entire Silencer shell length.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is sectional view of Lockseaming apparatus according to current invention showing forming rollers in upper position, gathering and forming bars in the closed position and centre bar in the down position

FIG. 1 a and 1 b are sectional views of forming bars and centre bar showing two different shapes.

FIG. 2 is showing a Lockseaming apparatus according to prior art showing forming rollers in the down position

FIG. 3 is showing a Lockseaming apparatus according to prior art showing forming rollers in the up position and the sheet is partially formed around the mandrel.

FIG. 4 is showing a Lockseaming apparatus according to prior art showing forming rollers in the up position and the roll carriage and gathering rollers are pre forming the two sheet edges.

FIG. 5 is showing a Lockseaming apparatus according to prior art showing forming rollers in the up position and the roll carriage and gathering rollers are in advanced position of the pre-forming process.

FIG. 6 is showing a Lockseaming apparatus according to prior art showing forming rollers in the up position and the roll carriage and Lockseaming rollers are Lockseaming the two sheet edges.

FIG. 7 is showing a typical roll carriage with gathering and Lockseaming rollers. FIG. 8 is showing an enlargement of the finished Lockseam of an oval and a round Silencer (Muffler) shell.

FIG. 9 is showing a Lockseaming apparatus according to prior art when Lockseaming large diameter Silencer (Muffler) shell.

FIG. 10 is showing a Lockseaming apparatus according to prior art when Lockseaming large diameter Silencer (Muffler) shell and the forming rollers are raised higher to form a larger section of the sheet around the mandrel.

FIG. 11 is sectional view of Lockseaming apparatus according to current invention showing forming rollers in down position, gathering and forming bars in the open position and centre bar in the down position

FIG. 12 is sectional view of Lockseaming apparatus according to current invention showing forming rollers in upper position, gathering and forming bars in the open position and centre bar in the down position

FIG. 13 is sectional view of Lockseaming apparatus according to current invention showing forming rollers in upper position, gathering bars in the closed position, forming bars in the open position and centre bar in the down position

FIG. 14 is sectional view of Lockseaming apparatus according to current invention showing forming rollers in upper position, gathering and forming bars in the closed position and centre bar in the down position

FIG. 15 is sectional view of Lockseaming apparatus according to current invention showing forming rollers in upper position, gathering bars in the closed position, forming bars in the open position and centre bar in the up position.

FIG. 16 is sectional view of Lockseaming apparatus according to current invention showing forming rollers in upper position, gathering bars in the closed position, forming bars in the open position and centre bar in the up position while roll carriage and Lockseaming rollers are performing the Lockseaming operation

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 a description of the prior art technique for forming thin wall sheet into an Automotive Muffler Shell will be described. The forming technique according to the prior art includes providing a Mandrel 1 that is shaped the same as required muffler shell which can be Round or Oval or irregular shape.

A sheet 2 is placed under the said mandrel 1 and above Forming rollers 3 and 4 and pressure bar 12. The said rollers 3 and 4 are mounted on arms 5 and 6 and allowed to rotate around centres 7 and 8 that are mounted on platform 11. Springs 9 and 10 are acting as to apply force against the said arms 5 and 6.

The said pressure bar 12 is mounted on pneumatic cylinder 13 and is allowed to move up and down

The said platform 11 is moved up and down by the use of hydraulic cylinders or other means. As the said platform 11 moves up, the said forming rollers 3 and 4 along with the said arms 5 and 6 are rotated around the said centres 7 and 8 allowing the forces of the said springs 9 and 10 to be exerted on the said sheet 2 such that the said sheet 2 is partially formed around the said mandrel 1 as shown in FIG. 3.

A set of gathering rollers 15 and 16 and vertical rollers 17 are mounted on roll carriage 14 and is allowed to travel on top of the said mandrel 1 and along the horizontal axis of the said mandrel 1 such that the two edges of the said sheet 2 are gathered together by the said rollers sets 15 and 16 and formed against the said vertical rollers set 17 as to form edges 39 and 40.

As the said roll carriage 14 travels along the axis of the said mandrel 1, the said set of rollers 15 and the said set of rollers 16 having different shapes will progressively form the said edges 39 and 40 closer as shown in FIG. 5.

Following the said sets of gathering rollers 15 and 16 and 17 is two sets of Lockseaming rollers 18 and 19. Each of the said sets of rollers 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 consists of a number of rollers of different shapes and will progressively form the said two edges 39 and 40 into a Lockseam 41 as shown in FIG. 8

The number or rollers in the said sets of rollers 15 and 16 is different depending on design and preference. Typically design includes 7 to 9 rollers in each of the said sets of rollers 15 and 16. The number or rollers in the said set of rollers 17 is different depending on design and preference. Typically design includes 3 rollers in the said set of rollers 17.

Similarly the number or rollers in the said sets of Lockseaming rollers 18 and 19 is different depending on design and preference. Typically design includes 7 to 9 rollers in each of the said sets of rollers 18 and 19.

FIG. 7 is showing a typical roll carriage arrangement.

The means of mounting and moving the said roll carriage 14 will vary and is obvious to those skilled in the art.

The said springs 9 and 10 can be replaced by hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders or other means that are obvious to those skilled in the art.

According to prior art the said platform 11 is moved to down position along with the said rollers 3 and 4 and the said arms 5 and 6 and the said pressure bar 12. The said sheet 2 is placed on top of the said forming rollers 3 and 4 and the said pressure bar 12.

The said platform 11 is moved up such that the said forming rollers 3 and 4 will partially form the said sheet 2 around the said mandrel 1.

The said pressure bar 12 will hold the said sheet 2 firmly against the said mandrel 1 such that the said sheet 2 will not move in horizontal plane relative to the said mandrel 1 while the said platform 11 is moving upward and the said rollers 3 and 4 are forming the said sheet 2 around the said mandrel 1.

The said roll carriage 14 with the said gathering rollers sets 15 and 16 and the said vertical rollers set 17 and the said Lockseaming rollers sets 18 and 19 will travel along the axis of the said mandrel 1. The said gathering roller set will progressively bring the said sheet edges 39 and 40 together and form the said sheet edges 39 and 40 over the said vertical roller set 17. Furthermore, the said Lockseamer rollers 18 and 19 will progressively form the said two edges 39 and 40 into the said Lockseam 41 as shown in FIG. 8

Other means of forming the said sheet 2 around the said mandrel 1 provide forming shoes or horizontal rollers or other means that are obvious to those who are skilled in the art.

Other means of gathering the said two sheet edges 39 and 40 and progressively forming the said two sheet edges 39 and 40 into the said Lockseam 41 provide perform rollers to form said sheet edges 39 and 40 followed by gathering rollers or gathering bars followed by a set of Lockseaming Rollers or other means that are obvious to those who are skilled in the art.

The process of gathering the said sheet edges 39 and 40 together causes drag on the said muffler sheet 2 and causes the trailing end of the said muffler shell to be larger in circumference that the starting end. This problem is increased when forming large muffler cross-sections such as large round muffler and asymmetric shapes as illustrated in FIG. 9.

As shown in FIG. 9 the said forming rollers 3 and 4 are placed at larger distance from the said gathering rollers 15 and 16 and from the said Lockseaming rollers 18 and 19. That cusses a large section 42 and 43 of the said sheet 2 to be unsupported between the said gathering and Lockseaming rollers 15,16, 17, 18 and 19 and the said forming rollers 3 and 4. The drag on the said muffler sheet edges 39 and 40 will force the said sheet material into the said areas 42 and 43 causing the trailing end of the said muffler to be larger than the said start end and will cause deterioration of the said Lockseam 41 at the said trailing end.

By forming a larger section of the said sheet 2 around the said mandrel 1 as shown in FIG. 10, the said forming rollers 3 and 4 are closer to the said gathering rollers 15,16 and 17 and the said Lockseaming rollers 18 and 19, however the said sheet edges 39 and 40 are folded over each other making it impossible for the said vertical roller set 17 to separate the said two sheet edges 39 and 40 and to form the said two sheet edges 39 and 40 as shown in FIG. 5.

Present Invention

The present invention provides a Mandrel 1 that is shaped the same as required muffler shell which can be Round or Oval or irregular shape.

A sheet 2 is placed under the said mandrel 1 and above forming rollers 3 and 4 and pressure bar 12. The said forming rollers 3 and 4 are mounted on arms 5 and 6 and are allowed to rotate around centres 7 and 8 that are mounted on platform 11. Springs 9 and 10 are acting as to apply force against the said arms 5 and 6.

The said pressure bar 12 is mounted on pneumatic cylinder 13 and is allowed to move up and down

The said platform 11 is moved up and down by the use of hydraulic cylinders or other means. As the said platform 11 moves up, the said forming rollers 3 and 4 along with the said arms 5 and 6 are rotated around the said centres 7 and 8 allowing the forces of the said springs 9 and 10 to be exerted on the said sheet 2 such that the said sheet 2 is partially formed around the said mandrel 1 as shown in FIG. 1.

The said springs 9 and 10 can be replaced by hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders or other means that are obvious to those skilled in the art.

The present invention also provides for gathering bars 20 and 21 that are placed parallel to the horizontal axis of the said mandrel 1. Further, the said gathering bars 20 and 21 are mounted on arms 22 and 23. The said arms 22 and 23 are allowed to swivel around axis 30 and 31. Further, the said gathering bars 20 and 21 and the said arms 22 and 23 are powered by cylinders 32 and 33 such that the said arms 22 and 23 along with the said gathering bars 20 and 21 are rotated between an open and closed position.

The invention also provides for forming bars 24 and 25 that are placed parallel to the horizontal axis of the said mandrel 1 and mounted on arms 26 and 27 that swivel around the said axis 30 and 31 and powered by a toggle 34 and 35 and slide 38. The said slide 38 is powered by cylinder 36 such that the said arms 26 and 27 along with the said forming bars 24 and 25 are rotated between and open and closed position.

The said arms 24 and 25 can have same said axis 30 and 31 as the said arms 22 and 23 or can have different axis.

The said arms 24 and 25 can be powered directly or through a toggle.

The invention also provides for centre bar 28 mounted on rods 29 and powered by cylinder 37 such that the said centre bar 28 is moved between an upper and down position.

The said forming bar 24 will further have a shape 44 that matches the shape 45 of the right hand side of the said centre bar 28. The said forming bar 25 will further have a shape 46 that matches the shape 47 of the left hand side of the said centre bar 28 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b.

According to the current invention as shown in FIG. 11, the said platform 11 is moved to down position along with the said rollers 3 and 4 and the said arms 5 and 6 and the said pressure bar 12. The said gathering bars 20 and 21 and the said forming bars 24 and 25 along with the said arms 22, 23, 26 and 27 are rotated to an open position. The said centre bar 28 and the said rod 29 are moved to down position. The said sheet 2 is placed on top of the said forming rollers 3 and 4 and the said pressure bar 12.

As shown in FIG. 12, the said platform 11 is moved up such that the said forming rollers 3 and 4 will partially form the said sheet 2 around the said mandrel 1 and such that said centre bare 28 is placed between the said two sheet edges 39 and 40.

The said pressure bar 12 will hold the said sheet 2 firmly against the said mandrel 1 such that the said sheet 2 will not move in horizontal plane relative to the said mandrel 1 while the said platform 11 is moving upward and the said rollers 3 and 4 are forming the said sheet 2 around the said mandrel 1.

As shown in FIG. 13, the said gathering bars 20 and 21 along with the said arms 22 and 23 are rotated to a closed position such that the said gathering bars 20 and 21 further form the said sheet 2 around the said mandrel 1 and partially form the said sheet edges 39 and 40 over the said centre bar 28.

As shown in FIG. 14, the said forming bars 24 and 25 along with the said arms 26 and 27 are rotated to a closed position such that the said forming bar 24 forms the said sheet edge 39 to match the said shapes 44 and 45 of the said forming bar 24 and the said centre bar 28. Similarly, the said forming bar 25 forms the said sheet edge 40 to match the said shapes 46 and 47 of the said forming bar 25 and the said centre bar 47.

As shown in FIG. 15 the said forming bars 24 and 25 along with the said arms 26 and 27 are rotated around the said centres 30 and 31 to open position and the said centre bar 28 and the said rod 29 are moved to upper position. The said sheet 2 will spring back between the said gathering bars 20 and 21 however the said sheet edges 39 and 40 will maintain its form as illustrated in FIG. 15.

As shown in FIG. 16 the said roll carriage 14 with the said Lockseaming rollers sets 18 and 19 will travel along the axis of the said mandrel 1. Each set of the said Lockseaming rollers sets 18 and 19 consists of a number of rollers of different shapes and will progressively form the said two edges 39 and 40 into the said Lockseam 41 as shown in FIG. 8

The means of mounting and moving the said roll carriage 14 will vary and is obvious to those skilled in the art.

The motion of the said gathering bars 20 and 21 and the said forming bars 24 and 25 can be a sliding motion or any other motion that is obvious to those skilled in the art.

As shown in FIG. 16, the said parts 44 and 45 of the said sheet 2 between the said gathering bars 20 and 21 and the said Lockseaming rollers sets 18 and 19 are much smaller than the said parts between the said rollers 3 and 4 and the said Lockseaming rollers sets 18 and 19. Hence the said sheet 2 is better supported and the circumference difference between the said trailing end of the muffler and the said leading end is kept to a minimum.

And hence the said sheet edges 39 and 40 are formed using the said forming bars 24 and 25, there is no need for the said gathering rollers 15 and 16 and the said vertical rollers 17, hence the said drag on the said sheet edges 39 and 40 is kept to a minimum, hence the circumference difference between the said trailing end of the muffler and the said leading end is kept to a minimum.

As a result the said Lockseam 41 remain consistent along the entire said muffler length.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of this invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A method for forming thin wall sheet into a mechanically locked shell comprising the steps off: providing a Mandrel that is shaped the same as the required muffler shell which can be Round or Oval or irregular shape providing a set of forming rollers mounted on arms and a platform that moves up and down such that the said thin wall sheet is placed over the said forming rollers when the said platform is in the down position and the said platform is moved up such that the said forming rollers will partially form the said thin wall sheet around the said mandrel providing a set of gathering and vertical and Lockseaming rollers that are mounted on a roll carriage and is allowed to travel on top of the said mandrel and along the horizontal axis of the said mandrel such that the two edges of the said thin wall sheet are gathered together by the said rollers and progressively formed into a mechanical lock commonly known to those who are skilled in the art as a Lockseam And by eliminating the gathering and vertical rollers. providing gathering and forming bars that replaces the gathering rollers and are placed parallel to the horizontal axis of the said mandrel and allowed to rotate or slide or move between an open and closed position providing a centre bar that replaces the vertical rollers and is placed parallel to the horizontal axis of the said mandrel and allowed to move between an up and down positions wherein the said centre bar will have a right hand shape that matches the shape of the said right hand form bar and the said centre bar will have a left hand shape that matches the shape of the said left hand form bar and by placing said centre bar in the said down position before the said platform is moved up such that the said forming rollers will partially form the said thin wall sheet around the said mandrel and such that said centre bare is placed between the said two sheet edges and by moving the said gathering bars to close position such that the said gathering bars will further form the said sheet around the said mandrel and partially form the said sheet edges over the said centre bar and by moving the said forming bars to a closed position such that the said forming bars will form the said sheet edges to match the shape of the said centre bar and by moving the said forming bars to open position and the said centre bar to upper position and by moving the said roll carriage with the said Lockseaming rollers sets along the axis of the said mandrel such that the said Lockseaming rollers sets will progressively form the said two edges into the said mechanical lock commonly known to those who are skilled in the art as a Lockseam.
 2. The method according to claim 1 where the said sheet is formed around the said mandrel using other means such as forming shoes or horizontal rollers or other means that are obvious to those who are skilled in the art.
 3. An apparatus for forming thin wall sheet into a mechanically locked shell comprising the steps off: providing a Mandrel that is shaped the same as the required muffler shell which can be Round or Oval or irregular shape and by providing a set of forming rollers mounted on arms and a platform that moves up and down providing gathering and forming bars that are placed parallel to the horizontal axis of the said mandrel and allowed to rotate or slide or move between an open and closed position providing a centre bar that is placed parallel to the horizontal axis of the said mandrel and is allowed to move between an up and down positions Wherein the said centre bar will have a right hand shape that matches the shape of the said right hand form bar and the said centre bar will have a left hand shape that matches the shape of the said left hand form bar wherein the said platform and the said form rollers are moved to a down position and a thin sheet is placed over the form rollers and the centre bar is placed in the down position and by moving the platform and form rollers to up position such that the said sheet is partially formed around the said mandrel and wherein the said gathering bars are moved to close position such that the said gathering bars will further form the said sheet around the said mandrel and partially form the said sheet edges over the said centre bar and wherein the said forming bars are moved to a closed position such that the said forming bars will form the said sheet edges to match the shape of the said centre bar and wherein the said forming bars are moved to open position and the said centre bar is moved to upper position and wherein the said roll carriage and the said Lockseaming rollers sets are moved along the axis of the said mandrel such that the said Lockseaming rollers sets will progressively form the said two edges into the said mechanical lock commonly known to those who are skilled in the art as a Lockseam.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 3 where the said sheet is formed around the said mandrel using other means such as forming shoes or horizontal rollers or other means that are obvious to those who are skilled in the art.
 5. A method according to claim 1 wherein the said centre bar will have a shape different from the said forming bars.
 6. An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the said centre bar will have a shape different from the said forming bars.
 7. A process according to claim 1 where the said gathering bars are returned to the said open position before the said roll carriage and the said Lockseaming rollers are moved along the axis of the said mandrel such that the said Lockseaming rollers sets will progressively form the said two edges into the said mechanical lock. 